The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) voted unanimously on Monday morning that WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete’s (39-2-1, 32 KOs) technical decision victory over Charly Suarez (18-0, 10 KOs) on May 10 has been changed to a “no-contest.”
The decision, which Boxing Scene’s Lance Pugmire first reported, comes off the heels of a highly debated fight where, in the sixth round, there was a close encounter that led to a cut over the left eye of Navarrete. Initially, the referee deemed the cut to be from a headbutt, and the fight continued. Before the start of the eighth round, the ringside physician examined the cut, and he recommended that the fight not continue due to the severity of the cut. The fight went to the scorecards, and all three judges scored the technical decision victory (78-75, 77-76, and 77-76) for Navarrete, who retained his title.
After the fight and close examination of the footage, it was discovered that the cut came from a Suarez punch and not a headbutt. The CSAC made the call to investigate further to see if there was enough evidence to change the outcome of the fight. On Friday night, FightsATW reached out to Andy Foster, Executive Officer at CSAC, to see what the latest developments were in the investigation. He replied, “taking the decision up on Monday.” Minutes prior, WBO President Gustavo Olivieri, Esq. told FightsATW, “Waiting on a ruling by CSAC, but very likely we will order a rematch regardless.”
DEVELOPING: The CSAC will be “taking the decision up on Monday” morning regarding #NavarreteSuarez . WBO Prez told @FightsATW “Waiting on a ruling by CSAC, but very likely we will order a rematch regardless.” #Boxing
— Abraham Gonzalez (@abeG718) May 31, 2025
That led to today when the CSAC made the no-contest call. Although the right call would have been to award Suarez the TKO victory and the title, this decision of a no-contest is the next best thing.
It will be interesting to see if Navarrete takes on Suarez in the rematch, as he did not seem motivated to give the Filipino fighter another shot when asked during his post-fight interviews with the media. There is also the uncertainty of Top Rank and where they will hang their hat, given that the expiration of the ESPN deal is coming up at the end of July. If the fight does occur, fans will be anticipating it more so than their first fight, given the back story that has developed from fight night until now.
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